. And aren't "quotas" are what every poll-tested politician says he or she is against? Don't you think if the GOPs (or anyone) made a big stink about the stimulus bill's race quotas, Obama would back off? ... Plus it's another bone he could toss to Latinos! ...

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P.S.:

If "quotas" have always tested badly in polls, the words "affirmative action" has often tested much better. But

American voters say 55 - 36 percent that affirmative action should be abolished

Backfill:
Jennifer Rubin explains how explicit race quotas in contracting survived
the Supreme Court's 1995 Adarand
decision, which many people (me too) thought had killed the practice. "Strict scrutiny" isn't what it used to be. ... No doubt Justice Sotomayor will clean up this mess.

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**--You wouldn't know if you relied on the L.A. Times,
which apparently hasn't covered the CalTrans quota controversy (though its
competitors have
). ... 1:40 A.M.

Los Angeles Democrats have succeeded in using the state's fiscal crisis to recreate welfare
, some thirteen years after the hated federal AFDC entitlement was abolished. The local Dem-controlled Board of Supervisors is proposing to pay mothers for "caring for their own children"
--which was the original idea of the welfare program when it was inserted into the New Deal's cash-granting structure in 1935. It seemed
to make sense--caring for children is a type of work, after all. Except that subsidizing non-working parenthood--especially single motherhood--turned out to be a recipe for epic social disaster
(something that was predicted by not a few dissenting antipoverty activists back in FDR's day). In 1996, Congress finally decided the better policy was to require mothers receiving welfare to work, outside
the home, even if that was more expensive than just mailing them checks. At the time, the favored liberal Democratic battle cry was a demand for more day care. But now the Dem Board of Supervisors' proposes to cut the day care and just mail out the checks again, at least to all mothers with two children under age 6. (Message: Have a second kid and you don't have to go to work!).

Doesn't Obama's HHS Department have some say in this? Does he really want to resume subsidizing the culture of dependent single motherhood? ... P.S.:
If he plays his cards right
he could come out for both welfare and
quotas in the same week
, and give the GOPs a fair shot. ... [
via Drudge
] 2:07 A.M.

An archival examination of his writings for The Post shows that when CNN has received a significant
mention in his columns or stories, they typically
end with this disclosure: "Howard Kurtz hosts's CNN's weekly media program, 'Reliable Sources.'" [ Weasel-word emphasis added.
]

a)BS
; b)
What about stories trashing CNN's competitors (without 'significantly' mentioning CNN)? c)
This isn't the sort of conflict-- getting a paycheck from one of the companies you are covering
--that disclosure is held to cure, according to the normal rules of journalism. ...

Imagine how cool President McCain would be in the Iran crisis
. ... Would he go on TV to declare "we are all Moussavists now," or suspend all government activities while he parachuted into Tehran? ... 3:08 A.M.